Kevin Negandhi's sports broadcasting career began at Temple University calling women's college basketball games on radio as a student. Now he's been an anchor at ESPN since 2006, and this year he's back to covering the sport at its championship level.

ESPN anchor Kevin Negandhi added another role to his repertoire this year as studio host for the NCAA women's college basketball tournament.ESPN Images

Negandhi said he's "worn many hats," since joining ESPN, hosting baseball, basketball and football shows, and for the past two years, SportsCenter from 8-11 a.m. on weekdays.

In March Negandhi took over for Trey Wingo as ESPN's lead studio host for the women's NCAA tournament and Final Four, and as he told sports reporter Rachel Whittaker, it's been a perfect fit.

1) When you were approached to host ESPN's women’s NCAA tournament and Final Four coverage in New Orleans, what was your initial reaction?

“Where was Trey going? That was a staple with Trey. Initially it was like ‘Whoa, is Trey leaving the company?’ Then I talked to Trey; he was really instrumental in talking to me and saying ‘Hey, this is a great opportunity.’ My next question was who am I working with. When I found out it was still gonna be (analysts) Kara (Lawson) and Carolyn (Peck), I was on board.

"They make my job so easy because they’re such students of the game. They love the game, and every night I’m with both of them in the studio, I learn two or three new things. It’s so great that we can actually translate that on the air each and every night. They have a great talent of translating knowledge to the viewer considering they know so much about basketball. I was convinced this was the right move for me for three weeks in March."

2) What's been the biggest challenge about the new role?

“The only thing I’ve really had to challenge myself is my body clock considering I’ve done the 9 a.m. (ET) SportsCenter for two years - I’m up at 4:45 every morning. Just to give you an idea, this past Saturday, we had a game that went on the West Coast, and we didn’t walk off set until 2 a.m. When I’m on the air, I’m very energetic; I have a lot of fun because we’re talking sports. So maintaining energy for a 14-hour day is the only challenge. It’s been great.

"The first two days having 16 games and a variety of different halftimes and cut-ins and stuff like that when I’m on the set, maintaining traffic is such an important thing. Honestly it was like riding a bike and getting back behind the wheel and getting used to ‘we’re going to this game and we’re going to that game.’ I would say within the first game I was feeling my groove, and it’s been great since."

"For three seasons I traveled with the team and called 25-30 games a year. It was a great experience. When the full announcement (I'd be the NCAA tournament studio host) came through, I joked to my wife that everything has come full circle. This is where I started, I’ve gone through a journey and traveled to many places and worked many different shows, now I’m back doing women’s basketball. It just feels like a comfortable fit.

“Basketball is basketball. I don’t look at it as different from the men. It’s getting the ball in the hoop, pushing the ball in transition, busting a zone and working man to man; those concepts are the same. The only adjustment I went through when I was calling games is making sure I had the basic fundamentals down being 19 years old and calling my first game on the radio for an FM station. The basketball takes care of itself."

4) Now that Baylor and Stanford have been eliminated, does that make this Final Four even more intriguing for you to cover?

“There are so many storylines. With the idea that Baylor is out, I think everybody had predicted them, just slotted them in all season long, I think the very cool thing is on one side you have UConn and Notre Dame where it’s business as usual. They’ve been there before, they’re familiar with everything, they bring the experience. Then on the other side, you have a Cal team that’s never been here before, and Lindsey Gottlieb with her energy and her excitement to be at the Final Four and take this program to new heights. And then you have Louisville there. I don’t want to call them a Cinderella because you’re no longer a Cinderella after you get to the Final Four; they’re the surprise team I think the nation is so intrigued with because they’re the ones who took down the giant. And they continue to play great - people can’t figure them out. There are so many fascinating storylines. Having the best rivalry in the game with Notre Dame and UConn is fantastic, but having Louisville and Cal as part of it and bringing that new energy makes it even better.”

5) What are you looking forward to about another trip to New Orleans since Super Bowl XLVII?

“I’d never been to New Orleans until Super Bowl week. I was down on Bourbon Street from Wednesday to Saturday of Super Bowl week, so I got the chance to experience Super Bowl week combined with Mardi Gras sort of being on hold. It was an amazing experience. I think that was a great way to whet my appetite to come back. I can’t wait for the weather and just to walk around. In early February it wasn’t cold, but it wasn’t like where you could just hang out all day outside. I can’t wait to get the opportunity to walk around even more and explore. I just love the character of the city and the personalities. I fit in pretty well in New Orleans."